Friend,

On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, the SPLC honors and memorializes all those we’ve lost to anti-trans violence. Far too often, we are reminded that discrimination and hate are still a daily reality for our transgender family, friends and neighbors. The SPLC remains committed to uplifting the voices of transgender people and ending the horrific anti-LGBTQ+ violence that plagues our nation.

In the year that has transpired since we last recognized Transgender Day of Remembrance, the SPLC has recorded a 33% increase in active anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups. The increase is primarily the result of anti-trans organizing motivated by the hard right’s renewed focus on false conspiracy theories that paint LGBTQ+ people, notably trans people and drag artists, and their allies as sexual predators.

Throughout 2023, the activities of anti-LGBTQ+ groups overlapped with white nationalist, neo-Nazi, antisemitic and antigovernment groups who targeted LGBTQ+ people and events for intimidation and violent campaigns designed to drive LGBTQ+ people from public life. The uptick of violence continues to threaten the ability of trans people to live their full, authentic lives, contributing to heightened suicide rates, particularly among trans youth.

In efforts to erase transgender people, states are banning classroom discussions of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender-affirming medical care and drag shows, and trans girls and women are being prohibited from playing on female sports teams. We’re pushing back by representing Georgia teacher Katie Rinderle in an ongoing suit, Rinderle, et al., v. Cobb County School District, et al., filed after she was unjustly fired for reading her class My Shadow is Purple, an age-appropriate picture book about self-acceptance and navigating gender stereotypes.

The recent deluge of anti-trans actions from state and federal legislators is discouraging, but we cannot abandon hope. Our lawyers and advocates are challenging hateful legislation at every step — we successfully defeated every single one of almost 20 vicious anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in a 2024 Georgia legislative session.

Fifty-five years since the Stonewall uprising, trans people, especially Black trans women, are still marching for justice that is long overdue. The SPLC stands in solidarity with trans people today and every day in the fight for a better world, because we believe that everyone should be able to live their lives authentically, freely and without fear for their safety or retaliation.

In solidarity,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center